Improvement in seed-planters



E. MCCORMICK.

Corn-Planter. v No. 13,683. Patented Oct 16. 1855 AM. PHDi'O-LITHB. C0..Y. (DSBDRNES PROCESS) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

E. MCCORMICK, OF CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,683, dated October16, 1555.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, EBENEZER McGoRMtoK, of Oonnellsville, in the countyof Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented and made certain newand useful Improvements in the Construction of Corn-Planters andSeeders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the method of construction and mode ofoperating the, same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan ofthe machine, Fig. 2, a vertical section thereof in the plane 0000,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same in the plane yy, Fig.1; Fig. 4, view of a part dc-. tached.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

In the construction of my machine a suitable frame-work, W W, is securedto the axle, which is borne by two wheels, A A. The seedboxes H H,drill-teeth R R, and their appendages are secured to a distinct framecomposed of an upper cross-bar, G, and an under bar, F, connected witheach other and also with a rocking shaft, E, by suitable rods, ff,substantially as represented. The shaft E turns in hearings on theframe-work W W, so that its own frame may be raised and lowered withincertain limits for the purpose of elevating the drill-teeth whenrequired, and also for regulating the depth at which the seed are to beplanted. For the purpose of raising this frame E G, and in order toretain it at any height, I make use of a device of a peculiarconstruction, which device may be called a cam-lever, as at N, Fig. 3,with a fulcrum or axis, S, attached to the side of the bar G near thecenter beam of the frame-work \V W. The extended. or long part of thislever has projections or handlesr 1', by which the driver on the seat Dmay control the lever at pleasure. This lever has its eccentric or camor ring part of uniform thickness and size throughout its circumference,and around it is fitted aloop or collar, 61, secured to said middlebeam, W W, of the frame-work. By raising the arm 1' r of the lever thering or eccentric or cam part will slide through its collar (1, and thusforce the fulcrum S farther from said collar d, which movement will ofcourse raise the bar G and the rest of the frame with it. Owing to theannular or ring form of the eccentric or cam lever, and it itscircumference fits properly in to the collar (1, the lever is therebycaused by the hugging or clasping of the collar to remain in anyposition to which it is brought without catch, stop. or ratchet device,and thus it is managed or operated with the greatest facility, even bythe foot, and will not get out of order, as any additional device forretaining the frame in any position would be liable to. The costandcomplexity of such additional devices are also dispensed with.

The seed-boxes H H are divided longitudinally into two compartments by apartition, i,

directly under which is the aperture l, which conveys the seed to thedrill-tooth. The seed of both or of all the seed-boxes is fed to theseapertures by means of a single transverse sliding plate or bar, I, whichis provided in each seed-box with two vertical apertures, m a, throughit of sufficient capacity to hold any number of grains of seed requiredto be deposited ineach hil'. The distance between the apertures m and nis just sufficient to reach from beneath the partition i into thecompartments on either side, and the extent of reciprocating motiongiven to the bar should be the same as this distance, so that eachaperture may be brought alternately into the compartment, receive theseed, and return to a position directly over the aperture 1, into whichit allows the seed to fall by the movement of said bar. The lower edgesof the partitionsiz' should terminateinsomeelasticoryieldingsubstancepp-such as bristles 'or india-rubber-- in order that no impediment may beoffered to the movement of the bar I by any of the seeds projecting outof the apertures m n, and at the same time that they may extendsufficiently close to said bar to prevent any seed not in said aperturesbeing driven into the apertures l 1. Motion is communicated to the bar Iby means of a lever, L, arranged substantially as shown in thedrawings-viz., with a vertical shaft vibrating in bearings on the frame,an arm at the lower end bent so as to reach to and be inserted into thebar, and a winch, S, at the upper end, by which the driver actuatcs itas often as the seeds are to be deposited.

In order to furnish a sure guide to the driver when to deposit theseeds, I cross-mark the ground by first passing the machine over it atright angles to the direction in which the rows posits seed when movedin either direction, so

are to be planted. Forthis purpose I add a shoe or drag, B, consistingof a simple oblong block of wood, connected with the machine by a link,a, so that it will ride freely over the ground, and kept in properposition by two guides, b b, as shown in Fig. 4. It is situatedequidistant from the wheels A A; or, if the machine is wider than twicethe required distance between two adjacent hills, the number of drags isincreased accordingly, so that their distances from each other and fromthe wheels shall be alike and equal to the desired distance apart atwhich the hills are to be planted. Thus arranged, the machine is passedover the ground, the last rut of the previous turn serving as a path inwhich the near wheel is to pass in the next turn till the whole groundis thereby marked off. The drill-teeth are raised away from the groundduring this preliminary cross-marking. The machine is then arranged forplanting by removing or hoisting out of the way the drag or dragsB andletting down the drill-teeth sufficiently for depositing the seed at therequired depth. When planting, the driver causes the seed-bar to moveand deposit the seed at each moment when crossing one of the marks madeby the drag or wheel, as above described. This he. will be able to dowith precision after a little practice. The seed-bar, arranged as abovedescribed, de-

that it requires but a slight effort of the driver to work it.

The seed-boxes H H are placed half way between the wheels A A andthedrag B, so that the distance between them and the wheels is equal tohalf the distance between the rows. By this arrangement the rows arespaced 01f with great precision by simply taking care to let the nearwheel in each turn across the ground travel in the last wheel-rut of theprevious turn. Ground planted in this manner can be cultivated bothbetween the rows and crosswise. Rollers C C may be employed for passingover the rows after the seed is deposited.

For the purpose of enabling the wheels A A to mark the grounddistinctly, and to remove turfs, stalks, or other obstructions fromwhere the seed is to be. deposited, I attach a broad blade or scraper,P, to the frame-work by rods 0 e, just in front of each wheel, and allowit to extend downward just far enough to sweep or graze the surface ofthe ground. Such a device is not required before the drag B, as it willclear its own track.

I also employ another device for clearing away obstructions from thedrill-teeth R It whenever they collect there. It consists of an arm, M,projecting down close by the side of each drill-tooth, as represented.These arms are attached to a single horizontal rod or shaft, which isprovided with another arm, 9, projecting upward, and from the upper endof the latter a rod, h, extends back to the side of the seat D, or tosuch a position as to enable the driver to reach it. He can therebycause the arms M M to vibrate and 'keep the drill-teeth free fromobstructions without quittinghis seat.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

So arranging the drag B, with its link and guides, and the wheels A Awith regard to a seeding and covering apparatus, such as described, asthat they shall be guides and markers for directing the dropping of theseed at stated intervals. as set forth.

EBENEZER MCCORMICK. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, STEPHEN HEDGE.

